South Korean President Moon Jae-in suspends further THAAD deployment

A South Korean protester sits next to a poster with an illustration of President Trump to oppose a plan to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on June 5, 2017.(Photo: Ahn Young-joon, AP)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday suspended further deployment of a controversial U.S. missile defense system that the Pentagon rushed to put in place before the impeachment of his more hawkish predecessor.

Moon, who was elected in May on a platform of seeking renewed dialogue with North Korea, had objected to the rapid installation of the system, called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), that is intended to guard against missile attacks from the North. He stopped it, citing the need for an environmental assessment.

THAAD has drawn sharp condemnation from China, and became a political flashpoint within South Korea when its first two launchers deployed in late April ahead of the May presidential election. Moon called for a parliamentary review of the system during his campaign.

"We are not saying the two launchers and other equipment that have already been deployed should be withdrawn. But those that have yet to be deployed will have to wait," said a senior official from Moon’s office, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The official, who Yonhap did not name, said the assessment could take up to a year.

Last week, Moon ordered a probe after it was revealed that the defense ministry had allowed four more launchers to enter into the country without informing him. Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s spokesman, told reporters that Moon found the move “very shocking.”

The probe concluded that a defense ministry official did try to keep the delivery of the missile-launcher a secret and that the ministry may have been trying to keep the scope of the system smaller to avoid having to carry out a full-scale environmental assessment, Yonhap reported.

The initial THAAD deployment was met with protests from residents in the rural area of Seongju, 135 miles southeast of Seoul, where it was deployed in the middle of the night on a golf course owned by Lotte Group, a South Korean-Japanese conglomerate.

China has been outspoken in its criticism of the system, which it says could be used to spy into Chinese territory with its powerful radar. Beijing has applied economic pressure to South Korea in response to the deployment, banning tour groups from selling packages to the country, a popular destination for Chinese travelers. South Korean products have also been met with boycotts in China while Lotte-owned stores there have been shut down, South Korean pop music concerts canceled and the streaming of South Korean shows and movies blocked.

Moon has taken a more conciliatory tone with Beijing since his election on May 9, sending an envoy, Lee Hae-Chan, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month. Xi told the envoy he hoped to put relations between the two countries “back onto a normal track,” according to Chinese state media.

Some signs of a thaw have already begun to appear. South Korean air carrier Jeju Air announced last week that China had approved a plan for more flights to the Chinese city of Weihai.

Moon has also taken a softer stance toward North Korea than his predecessor Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in March on corruption charges, saying that he wants dialogue with Pyongyang.

North Korea has continued to conduct a series of missile tests this year, most recently firing a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on May 29. Tensions remain high in the region, and the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier group, the USS Ronald Reagan, to waters off the Korean Peninsula toward the end of May. The carrier joined the USS Carl Vinson, already positioned there, for training exercises.

President Trump rattled ties with South Korea in April when he said he wanted it to pay for THAAD, which he estimated to cost $1 billion. "We're going to protect them," Trump said. "But they should pay for that, and they understand that."